As we observe our nation's birthday, Tennessee fans turn their thoughts to heroes who gave so much.

Washington (Kelley) and Franklin (Aubrayo).

Adams (Mark), Hancock (Anthony) and the currently popular Hamilton (Mercedes).

Historical accomplishments should be celebrated. Congratulations to Florida. The Gators last week joined Michigan, UCLA and Ohio State as the only schools to win national championships in football, men's basketball and baseball.

But while any fan wants his school's highs to be as high as possible, there is also pride in preventing the lows from sinking too low.

Which is where Tennessee football should be hailed.

Never have the Vols lost eight games in a season.

Only one other Division I school, Ohio State, can make that claim. (OK, Old Dominion, too, but the program goes back only eight seasons. Check back in a few decades, ODU.)

Tennessee, like any program, has seen hard times. But the Vols always got the bleeding stopped at seven.

Oklahoma won 47 games in a row in the 1950s but it lost eight in 1996 and again in 1997. Florida State had some dreadful seasons in the 1970s. Same with Miami.

Just last year Notre Dame and UCLA went 4-8, Michigan State 3-9.

Georgia lost eight only once, in 1953. It happens to everyone.

Well, nearly everyone. Not to the Buckeyes or the Vols. Ohio State's only seven-loss season was 2011 with interim coach Luke Fickell holding down the fort between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.

Tennessee has come to the brink of eight losses six times. The first was 1977 when Johnny Majors' first team beat Vanderbilt to finish 4-7.

Coach Johnny Majors finished strong a couple of times to avoid eight losses. Here he is carried off the field after a 1979 win over Notre Dame.(Photo: News Sentinel)

The other five are distressingly fresh.

The stunning loss to Wyoming in 2008 left lame-duck Phillip Fulmer at 3-7. A trooper to the end, he closed out with wins over Vandy and Kentucky.

Derek Dooley was a seven-game loser all three seasons. He dodged eight his first year with a double-overtime win over UAB. His second was saved by an OT pick-six against the Commodores.

Dooley was fired at 4-7 in 2012 after being routed by Vanderbilt. Interim coach Jim Chaney did the program a solid by beating Kentucky on his way out the door.

One year later, Butch Jones found himself 4-7 headed to Lexington. A 27-14 win over the Wildcats got the job done. In the Jones era, the complaint is about eight wins, not eight losses.

The Vols might never have stared down the barrel of eight losses harder than they did in 1988. A loss to Alabama on Oct. 15 left UT a slack-jawed 0-6. Majors rallied the troops, the schedule took a friendly turn and the Vols got home 5-6.

Poor 1909 deserves a quick mention. The Vols scored in only one game all year, a win over Transylvania, and finished 1-6-2. As a fresh-out-of-college columnist John Adams stated at the time, hats off to the defense in scoreless ties with Centre and Chattanooga.

So here more than a century later, Tennessee has never suffered the indignity of an "8" next its name in the loss column. It's an elite club of two.

Food for thought next time you make a sign to hoist when the "College GameDay" crew comes to town.

Mike Strange may be reached at mike.strange@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at Strangemike44.